"There is so much peace that comes with
learning to live comfortably with what we have,
with feeling a sense of enoughness..."
@the lukhouse on Instagram
Happy Friday... and the First Day of March! Even with the extra day in February, the month has flown by in a hurry. We've had a quiet week, hunkering indoors during a snowstorm. Have been sorting through my materials possessions, of which I seem to have quite a few. I sure am a lucky/blessed girl!
Of late, Rick and I have been pondering our future plans for the next few years—my 70th and his 80th are approaching although they are a ways off but the days are ticking—as we begin thinking about downsizing and eventually moving to a smaller place. Although plans are in the embryonic stage, afar off, yet still I feel equipped to consider what I should do with my things, and especially what I can at last let go of because I have a foreseeable, tangible path ahead. I truly want to be the caretaker of fewer items. To have more time for loved ones instead of things. More time for my writing and self-care as health issues start to creep in. To keep only what still makes my heart happy and continues to make daily life for us comfortable and cheering. Already it gets easier in my mind to start letting go. And I begin to feel at peace, as the quote above says, to live comfortably with what we have, with that very real sense of 'enoughness'. I love that word. To recognize our own sense of enoughness in this stage of life. We start small... clearing out one small pile, one drawer, a single cupboard... revisiting the equipment and tools we no longer use or need, realizing our memorabilia doesn't need to be held so tightly, that maybe we don't need all the touchstones we once thought we couldn't live without.
Enough pondering on that for now... here is this week's edition of Five on Friday. I hope you enjoy.
One. Outside My Window
I peer out my study window into sunless skies awash in pearl grey. Tree branches stand in stark contrast while shrubs bounce with the flurry of birds eager for nourishment. Blustering north winds shape small snowdrifts on the neighbour's roof. And there's talk of more snow this afternoon. Although I think they jest, for isn't that a wee glimmer over there that feels like maybe the sun could peek out? (Note added later... forget the sunshine, it's getting grimmer and greyer and blusterier as we type.)
Two. Inside My House
Rick and I just had a mid-morning break. He's been painting the closet in his den, and I'm working on today's post. We enjoyed a small cup of coffee (my first of the day) with a toasted hot cross bun and a bit of Havarti cheese. It was yum; I feel sated. My inner world feels brighter.
And I'm admiring the wee picture (above) I found at the thrift store for three dollars. I fell in love and my fingers reached for it without a second thought. Methinks Madam Bunny is pleased too.
Three. Thrift Store Book Haul
First, I dropped off a bag of items for donation at the thrift shop. Then I went round into their shop to check out the book section. In less than 15 minutes, my arms were loaded with these finds (I should have stopped for a shopping basket):
- Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (Poirot mystery)- Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (I read all the Miss Marple novels last year, now I thought I'd read through some of the Poirot mysteries.)- Agent in Place by Helen MacInnes (espionage novel set in the 1970s. I read something of hers last autumn 'While We Still Live' which I found beautifully written, thrilling, and thoughtful. Look forward to reading this one.)- Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (These were on my 'to find' list. I've been reading about the author's life lately and so I want to reread her Wimsey novels);- Romancing Miss Brontë by Juliet Gael (historical fiction novel about Charlotte Brontë);- A Long Shadow by Charles Todd (Inspector Rutledge mystery set in post-World War I);- The Best of James Herriot (a lovely collection of excerpts from his books that he 'almost never wrote' along with other material about him and some lovely photographs of the Yorkshire Dales).
Undoubtedly you will recognize, as I have done, the thrilling sensation Kate Morton describes so aptly in her novel Homecoming: "As Jess stepped out of the shop and onto the pavement, she was filled with the lightness of spirit and free-floating sense of possibility that always claimed her when she had a brown paper bag containing new books under her arm." E.x.a.c.t.l.y !
Four. Tulips on the Dining Table
A breath of spring on this dullish day. How these tulips cheer the place up and make me smile every time I walk past them. Tulips bulbs are still worth their weight in gold; thankfully they are within easy reach of my much slimmer purse. 😉
Five. Wise Thought from Susan Branch
"Try and fall in love with as many things as possible, every day things like the dawn, the moon, the way your flannel shirt feels, clothes warm from the dryer, singing in the car, the first words to a delicious new book, hot brownies and cold milk . . . take nothing for granted; that way all your days will feel like miracles."
❦
On that sparkling note, I'm wishing you a beautiful weekend,
Brenda
Photo credit:
Today's photos are mine
Your lovely flowers bring light to my day. There is nothing quite so calming as the beauty in a vase of loveliness. I do like your little picture, and I think Bunny does too. I couldnt have passed it by either. Thank you for a very delightful post.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, there is nothing quite like a vase of flowers to add joy to our hearts and smiles to our faces. So glad for your note. Thank you! xo
DeleteSuch a delightful way to wake up!. Reading your lovely words, crowning my cares with contentment in a beautiful sense of 'enoughness' Each of your Friday-five had something that struck a chord! Hubby is turning 60 this year and though we are trailing a decade+ behind where you are we are well aware of how faster the months/years ever seem to fly!!The line by Kate Morton is so true <3<3 as well as the ending by Susan Branch. It so describes the way I strive to live each day<3 You have me itching to go thrift shopping;-) Happy, happy March! Now I'm off to 'take nothing for granted; (so) that way all (my) days will feel like miracles." !
ReplyDeleteAwww, Janet, thank you for your lovely response. I hope you have a chance for some thrift shopping and find a few treasures that make you happy, happy. Wishing you a beautiful week. xo
DeleteThis is such a happy post. Good advice, both yours about downsizing and Susan Branch's! Lovely books, gorgeous flowers. Beauty abounds!
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear reader, for taking a moment to leave your lovely note.
DeleteI read this lovely post this morning, and just came back to read it again. I've spent much of the day sorting through items from two china hutches. We had to move furniture which required taking everything out. I'm thoughtful about each piece as I put it back. I'm trying to let go of material things, too. I have so many things that hold memories, and more that held memories for others in my family. But, it's time to let go, as I try to make room for experiences and time for doing and just being. I enjoy thrifting, and I smiled when I read how you dropped things off and then went around to the front of the store to do a little shopping. I do the same. I guess the key is to hold everything lightly. I can enjoy items for a season, and then let go. I try to apply that to most things in life. Hold everything lightly. Life can change so quickly, so enjoy things while they last. Thank you for your beautiful post today, Brenda.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to take that advice too, Karen, about holding things lightly. It helps me to stay fluid and roll with the punches, as the saying goes, when time and circumstances change and shift our lives. I want to enjoy things while I have them, release them with thanksgiving when I'm done with them, and embrace the new gifts with fresh joy and curiosity. So glad you stopped by... thank you for sharing!
DeleteHolding onto our stuff lightly and letting go of it are good lessons to learn throughout life. The 70 mark is looming for us both in a few years, too. We are hoping to stay in our home for as long as possible, Lord willing, and we're planning on 15-20 years. Of course, that could all change tomorrow as life is uncertain. We do try to keep our stuff pared down by getting rid of things we no longer use or need regularly. We moved often in the first 25 years and having less stuff made it easier.
ReplyDeleteYour tulips are a bright joy. I don't think I would have passed that floral picture either. Your book stack is wonderful - I would love to read all of those books (some of them would be a re-read). Have you read Agatha Christie's Taken at the Flood? I picked it up at a used bookstore recently and was rather disturbed at the ending.
Jess's sentiments in Homecoming are exactly mine! Have a wonderful weekend, Brenda. It's been raining and hailing here, but suddenly the sun appeared and illuminates corners of the room. So lovely.
After all the hard work you've both spent fixing up your home (so beautifully) I do hope you'll be able to enjoy it for many years to come. Lorrie, you asked about Agatha Christie's Taken at the Flood. I don't remember the story exactly. I don't know if I read it or only watched it on tv. But I don't recall it being one I enjoyed. I am intrigued enough to see if the library has a copy and take a look at the ending of which you found disturbing.
Delete"Take nothing for granted". That is key, isn't is. I love that whole last quote. I'm in a purging mood. It sputters and lags every once in a while, but overall I'm making progress.
ReplyDeleteThere are seasons for purging - the spirit and body come into sync and it becomes so much easier. Becki, I wish you continued grace... and success in your endeavours. I find it so important to keep at it when I'm in that mood, for once the mood lifts, it's nearly impossible to try and throw something out then.
DeleteHello Brenda. That was a most lovely post. I love your header! And the thrift store painting is gorgeous. I can identify with your wanting and needing to downsize. For the past three and a half years, I have been trying to do that but I am still a long way from finishing. I just cannot bear to part with some things that were a terribly important part of my life and still are...photos, dolls, decades of diaries, holiday decorations, and on and on. It's a most painful process for me. Others may think it's liberating and perhaps it is but, to me, it is weighed down with grief. I don't want to live in the past but I don't want to just dissolve it, either. I love your writing and your blog. I hope you have a splendid weekend, Brenda. Sincerely, Susan
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. I thought you'd enjoy that little thrift store painting. It turns out I have a pretty china plate edged with the colour of the plant pot - I think together these two pieces would create something lovely to display in my house. // I know it's been hard going for you these past years as you've had to face that downsizing when you weren't ready at all to face it. I certainly understand when you say you don't want to live in the past but you don't want to just dissolve it, either. Oh yes, I hear that with my heart. There is a difference, I find, of letting go when the heart is ready to release the care of the item into the hands of someone else (known or unknown) than to be forced to... for whatever reason. I hope you will find little graces that give you peace to let go when you must, without it negating its value and importance to you. Sending heart hugs xo
DeleteWhat a delight to stop by your blog today. Those tulips are so happy, and especially so set against your Robert LeMay painting. And the little painting standing by the sweet bunny ... it must give your heart a little jump of joy whenever you look at it.
ReplyDeleteI love thrift stores ... there is one in the little town near our home ... you'd never know it was a treasure trove by looking at the outside but my goodness, when you step inside!! You could spend hours in that little space.
I love the idea of living a life of enoughness. Right now we're not quite there since our home needs to have enough for the others who come to stay too. But I often think about and look forward to a time when a home for us two will be just enough. Meanwhile, I AM falling in love with as many things as possible, and taking nothing for granted. What a beautiful way to live.
That thrift store near your home sounds delightful, Joy. Time would fly poking around in such a treasure trove of space.
DeleteI find it most interesting--I've noticed it the older I get--that in life, there are the seasons of growth and expansion (in ourselves personally and in our material wealth and possessions) And, then there comes a peak, as it were, when as we age, we start to decrease, start thinking of downsizing and creating our lives in a smaller, simpler way. I think those seasons of enoughness all come to us eventually... in different ways and times. Aging, illness, death of a partner certainly influences and can change our circumstances in a blink. ... That hopefully doesn't feel sad or hope-draining, but rather, as you have wrapped up your note, meanwhile, we fall in love with as many things as possible, and take nothing for granted. We choose to live that way until our last breath.
Brenda, not once have I visited your blog and not come away feeling as if Someone has given me a long, cool drink of water. Every single time there is something made clear to me, some hidden Hand that picks me up and dusts me off, refeshment then offered for the journey ahead.
ReplyDeleteThis time, it was the tulips and the Susan Branch quote. To remind me that there is a world out there, sometimes hidden, but always waiting to embrace me and hold me close to Its Heart.
So, bless you for yet another precious post.
You give me such joy with your grace-filled words. Thank you, Caitlynne Grace. Many years ago when I first started writing, I felt those words in Proverbs 25:25 were to be the guiding light for my writing: "Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far (home) country." That's what I desired my writing to be for those who read it. Your words affirm it. I feel so blessed!
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYAY Brenda!!!!’ I say “YAY” because AGAIN you and your words bring such JOY to my morning; hitting SO many of the “rooms of my thoughts” that in life bring me joy!!!
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at the trip to Goodwill because I had a recent trip where I did leave with a stash of books!!! One might think that I have empty bookcases waiting for them all!!
The $3 lovely find!!!!! It is beautiful and what fun that even when we are “working at” living with less we CAN still find a tiny item that brings perfect joy!
Beginning your morning together with coffee and something scrumptious before you each take off on your days is a very loving , sweet start to both of your days.
I cannot thank you enough for ALL the joy you have brought into my days, for the ways your thoughts have almost “affirmed” my own. Sometimes I feel that my sense of wonder and awe are regarded by some as “childish.”
I know they are not yet it helps to hear you, loving and appreciating the many “wonders” that I love too!
You, truly have been one of the “gifts” that I have enjoyed the most in the past few years that I have followed you!! Thank you!!!
Love to you as you continue to live with health questions and life down the road!!!
Gratefully, Ann from Ohio
Ann, I loved your note, thank you. Especially chuckled when you said, "One might think that I have empty bookcases waiting for them all!!" Yes, indeed... same here. Of course, we don't admit that all the shelves are stuffed with books we love alongside the mounting piles we still hope one day to read. Just knowing they are there, waiting for us, gives us such a happy, giggly moment. Thank you for your cheering thoughts. Bless you...xo
DeleteI nodded and smiled through this whole post . . . from the "enoughness" to the sweet thrift store painting to the book haul to the wise words at the end. Yes!! :)
ReplyDeleteSweet... glad you enjoyed your visit, Cheryl ! Thanks for stopping in - how's the house painting project going?
DeleteWe are still plodding on! We're on Phase 7 (out of nine phases), so the end is in sight. It is worth the tedium though because I love the new color!
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